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Background Many small for gestational age (SGA) infants have catch-up growth during the first 2 years of life, but approximately 10% have no catch-up growth, and short stature continues into adulthood. Identification of risk factors for absence of catch-up growth at an early age may be useful for earlier diagnosis and earlier treatment. Methods This was a retrospective multicenter study. The subjects were SGA infants with very low-birthweight (VLBW), who were followed up until the age of 3 years. The risk factors for absence of catch-up growth were identified on statistical analysis. Results Of the 217 SGA infants in this study, 181 were in the catch-up group and 36 were in the no catch-up group. The catch-up rate was 83%. On multivariate analysis adjusted for gestational age, birthweight, birth height, and birth head circumference, multipara, Z and ΔZ scores of length at 12 months of corrected age, and the Z score of height at 24 months of corrected age were risk factors for lack of catch-up at 3 years. Conclusions The length Z and ΔZ scores at 12 months of corrected age may be useful for an earlier diagnosis and earlier initiation of growth hormone treatment in VLBW infants.

Myanmar transitioned to a civilian government in March, 2011. Although the democratic process has accelerated since then, many problems in the field of healthcare still exist. Since there is a limited overview on the healthcare in Myanmar, this article briefly describes the current states surrounding health services in Myanmar. According to the Census 2014, the population in the Republic of the Union of Myanmar was 51,410,000. The crude birth rate in the previous one year was estimated to be 18.9 per 1,000, giving the annual population growth rate of 0.89% between 2003 and 2014. The Ministry of Health reorganized into six departments. National non-governmental organizations and community-based organizations support healthcare, as well as international non-governmental organizations. Since hospital statistics by the government cover only public facilities, the information on private facilities is limited. Although there were not enough medical doctors (61 per 100,000 population), the number of medical students was reduced from 2,400 to 1,200 in 2012 to ensure the quality of medical education. The information on causes of death in the general population could not be retrieved, but some data was available from hospital statistics. Although the improvement was marked, the figures did not reach the levels set by Millennium Development Goals 4 and 5. A trial prepaid health insurance system started in July 2015, to be followed by evaluation one year later. There are many international donors, including the Japan International Cooperation Agency, supporting health in Myanmar. With these efforts and support, a marked progress is expected in the field of healthcare.

(equation presented) A unique calix[4]arene lower-rim intramolecular rearrangement, resulting in molecular asymmetry arising from the upper- and lower-rim substitution pattern, produces a new class of inherently chiral calix[4]arenes in a partial cone conformation. This was aided by molecular rigidification arising from π-π and C-H⋯π interactions between bulky lower-rim substituents, with the corresponding circular dichroism spectra exhibiting the most intense bisignate Cotton effects yet observed for calix[4]arenes not bearing a chiral center.

Upon shift-up in temperature, mouse tsFS20 mutant cells with thermolabile ubiquitin-activating enzyme E1 immediately stopped DNA replication and showed cell cycle arrest in S-phase. In contrast, when the cells were permeabilized with lysolecithin after culture at the nonpermissive temperature, they exhibited a normal level of replicative DNA synthesis in vitro. In agreement with this, intracellular pools of deoxyribonucleoside triphosphates were significantly reduced in the cells cultured at the nonpermissive temperature. Even under the permissive conditions, tsFS20 cells were more sensitive to hydroxyurea and alkylating agents, and induced less mutation than the wild-type cells. These results suggest that the ubiquitin system affects DNA replication and repair.

Excellent direct separation of various carboxylic acid and amine enentiomers was accomplished by HPLC on reversed-phase silica gels coated with copper(II) complexes of N,S-dioctyl- d -penicillamine and ( R , R )-tartaric acid mono-( R )-1-( α -naphthyl)ethylamide. The chiral recognition mechanism is discussed. These copper(II) complexes are promising as chiral stationary phases for the separation of a variety of racemic carboxylic acids and amines in which copper(II) complex formation can be assumed.

The chromatographic properties of urea derivatives derived from ( S )- and ( R )-1-( α -naphthyl)ethylamine with ( S )-valine, ( S )- tert .-leucine, ( S )-proline and ( S )-indoline-2-carboxylic acid bonded to 3-aminopropylsilica gel as chiral stationary phases were examined by HPLC to investigate the effect of the structure of the amino acid moiety. The specific enantiomer separation of various racemic compounds including alcohols, esters, amines, amino alcohols, carboxylic acids and amino acids was accomplished on these phases using normal mobile phases. The effect of the stereochemical structure in these urea derivatives on chiral recognition is discussed.

For the separation of carboxylic acid enantiomers by HPLC, the chromatographic properties of four chiral amide and urea derivatives [ N -3,5- dinitrobenzoyl - d -1-(α- naphthyl)glycine , 3,5- dinitrophenylaminocarbonyl - d - phenylglycine , 3,5- dinitrophenylaminocarbonyl - l - valine and 3,5- dinitrophenylaminocarbonyl - l -tert.- leucine ] covalently bonded to 3-aminopropylsilanized silica gel as chiral stationary phases were examined. Direct separation of various carboxylic acid enantiomers was accomplished with these chiral stationary phases. The influence of the composition of the mobile phase in these enantiomer separations was shown. Amino acid enantiomers were also well resolved in the form of their derivatives containing a free carboxylic acid group, such as tert.-butoxycarbonyl (t-BOC), benzyloxycarbonyl (Z), 9-fluorenylmethoxycarbonyl (FMOC) and 5-dimethylamino-1-naphthalenesulfonyl (dansyl) derivatives.

Three mono-amide derivatives of (R,R)-tartaric acid derived from (R)-1 -(α-naphthyl)ethylamine (I), (S)-valine-(S)-1-(α-naphthyl)ethylamide (II) and (R)-valine--(R)-1-(α-naphthyl)ethylamide (III) were prepared and their chromatographic properties as chiral selectors were examined by HPLC. The enantiomeric separation of derivatives of racemic amino acids, amines, carboxylic acids and alcohols was achieved with these chiral selectors ionically bonded to 3-aminopropyl silica gel using organic mobile phases. In this separation the chiral amine or amino acid amide moiety may play an important role in chiral recognition. On the other hand, the direct separation of racemic amino acids and hydroxy acids was accomplished with these chiral selectors in the form of copper(II) complexes coated on the reversed-phase materials using aqueous mobile phases containing copper(II) ions. In this separation the (R,R)-tartaric acid moiety may contribute to the chiral recognition. These results clearly show that these (R,R)-tartaric acid mono-amide derivatives can act as bifunctional chiral selectors, and they are promising for the enantiomeric separation of a wide range of racemic compounds by HPLC.

A new cellulose derivative, sodium deoxycellulosesulfonate was prepared by a nucleophilic substitution of cellulose p-toluenesulfonate (cellulose tosylate) with sodium hydrogensulfite under refluxing in water. Degree of substitution of water-insoluble fraction of the sulfonate increased with reaction time and it was about 0.10 for cellulose tosylate with DS of 0.92 and 0.065 for that with DS of 0.79 at 24h, respectively. Yield of the insoluble sulfonates decreased with reaction time and showed a value as low as 48mol% for cellulose tosylate with DS of 0.92 at 48h. Conversions of the p-toluenesulfonate group to the sulfonate group were 11 and 8.2mol% for cellulose tosylates with DS of 0.92 and 0.79 at 24h, respectively, and p-toluenesulfonate group still remained even after the reaction of 48h. The sodium deoxycellulosesulfonate was identified by dyeing test with Methylene Blue for acid group, micro combustion test for sulfur, incineration test for sulfonate and sulfate groups, and hydrolysis-in-cineration test for sulfonate group, as well as with IR absorption spectra.

Two chiral ligand exchange stationary phases for HPLC, (R,R)-tartaric acid mono-(R)-1-(α-naphthyl)ethylamide [I] and (R,R) -tartaric acid mono-n-laurylamide [11], were prepared. The direct separation of a number of amino acid, hydroxy acid and amino alcohol enan-tiomers was achieved using ODS silica gel coated with [I] and [11], and water or hydro-organic eluents containing copper(ll) ion as a mobile phase. The enantioselectivity of the phase [I] was superior than that of the phase [11]. The phase [I] is very promisir.-as the chiral coating agent on reversed phase materials for the direct separation of a variety of enantiomers by ligand exchange HPLC.

Copper(II) complexes of Schiff bases of chiral amino alcohols were examined as chiral ligand-exchange phases for high-performance liquid chromatography. The direct separation of a large number of amino alcohol, amine, amino acid and hydroxy acid enantiomers was accomplished using octadecylsilanized silica coated with the binuclear copper(II) complex of N-salicylidene-( R )-2-amino-1,1-bis(2-butoxy-5- tert. -butylphenyl)-3-phenyl-1-propanol ( 1 ) and water or water—organic eluents containing copper(II) ion as mobile phases. The interaction of various enantiomers with the copper(II) complex 1 for chiral discrimination was discussed.

Ultraviolet absorption (UV) and electronic circular dichroism (ECD) spectra of enantiopure (Z)-8-methoxy-4-cyclooctenone (MCO) were measured in hexane to give a normal single UV absorption band at 298 nm, which is assigned to the carbonyl's pi*

Intracellular interferons (IFNs) exert biological functions similar to those of extracellular IFNs, but the signal transduction pathway triggered by the intracellular ligands has not been fully revealed. We investigated the signaling cascade by sequence-specific knockdown of signaling molecules by means of the RNA interference. Truncated IFN-beta gene was constructed so that the N-terminal secretory signal sequence was deleted (SD.IFN-beta). Cells transfected with this construct showed phosphorylation and activation of the STAT1 without any detectable secretion of the cytokine. The MHC class I expression was significantly augmented, while the augmentation was suppressed by short interfering RNA duplexes specific for JAK1, TYK2, and IFN-alpha/beta receptor (IFNAR) 1 and 2c chains. The SD.IFN-beta also induced p53 and phosphorylation of p53 at Ser(15). Specific silencing of p53 abrogated the antiviral effect of SD.IFN-beta, suggesting that the tumor suppressor is critically involved in antiviral defense mediated by intracellular IFN.

The absolute asymmetric photoreaction (AAP) of racemic aliphatic amino acids, such as alanine (Ala) and leucine (Leu), by left- and right-handed circularly polarized light (l- and r-CPL) irradiation was investigated in aqueous solutions at various pHs, by using the Onuki-type polarizing undulator installed in an electron storage ring. The magnitude of the optical purity (op) generated and the enantiomer-enriching mechanism operative in the AAP were found to be entirely dependent on the ionic state (and thus pH) of the amino/carboxylic acid moieties. At pH 1, the op of Ala and Leu determined by circular dichroism (CD) spectral measurement gradually developed with CPL irradiation, according to Kagan's equation. In contrast, irradiation at pH 7 gave op's much smaller than the theoretical values predicted by Kagan's equation. However, it turned out that the photodecomposition at pH 7 produces the corresponding alpha-hydroxycarboxylic acids stereoselectively, the CD sign of which is just opposite to that of the remaining amino acid, thus affording the apparently small op. It is concluded that, irrespective of solution pH, the AAP of amino acid proceeds upon CPL irradiation. At pH 1, the photodecomposition of valine, Leu, and isoleucine occurs via a Norrish type II mechanism, which is also applicable to other amino acids possessing a gamma-hydrogen. In the case of amino acids lacking a gamma-hydrogen, such as glycine and Ala, the photodecomposition mechanism is a photodeamination/hydroxylation and a Norrish type I reaction. At pH 7, the main photoproducts were ammonia and alpha-hydroxycarboxylic acids that were produced via photodeamination.

Starting from the corresponding 8-membered cyclic 1,2-diones, spiro-bridged cyclic dimers were prepared in moderate to good yields via barium oxide/hydroxide mediated coupling, followed by in situ methylation with dimethyl sulfate.

HPLC separation of enantiomers on the reversed phase silica gel coated with a chiral Schiff base copper complex (the binuclear copper(II) complex of N-salicyliden-(R)-2-amino-l, 1-bis(2-butoxy-5-tert-butylphenyl)-3-phenylpropanol-1) was examined. Various enantiomers of aminoalcohol, amino acid and amine were well resolved with Cu(IE) ion solution as eluent at room temperature. This copper complex is promising as the stationary phase for the enantiomer separation by HPLC.

骨芽細胞 (OB) のアルカリホスファターゼ (ALP) 発現に対する活性型ビタミンD3 (1, 25 (OH) 2D3) およびグルココルチコイドの調節機構について検討した。ラット新生児の頭蓋冠のコラゲナーゼ処理により得たOB-rich細胞の培養条件下にデキサメサゾンを添加し, 更に, 一部細胞を継代し1, 25 (OH) 2D3で処理した。その後, フローサイトメーター (FCS-10; 日本分光工業社製) にて細胞中のALP活性陽性細胞集団を分取し, 比活性の測定を行った。その結果, デキサメサゾン前処理による実験群では, コントロールと比較し1, 25 (OH) 2D3によりALP比活性は亢進し, 増殖が抑制される傾向を示した。また, アクリジンオレンジを用いた細胞周期解析によって, グルココルチコイドおよび1, 25 (OH) 2D3によりG1A細胞集団の割合の増加が認められた。即ち, グルココルチコイド処理によりOB中の1, 25 (OH) 2D3リセプター数が増加したため, 1, 25 (OH) 2D3により, 特定の細胞周期において, OBの分化した形質発現であるALPを誘導する可能性が示された。

Phenytoin (PHT), administered as an anticonvulsant, has a side effect gingiva overgrowth in approximately 50% of patients. The present study was attempted to explore the biochemical mechanism on non-collagenous protein biosynthesis as affected by PHT. Responder cells (RES A3, RES C2) of a patient with gingival overgrowth were obtained by the method of Kawase et al. Normal human gingival fibroblasts (Gin-1), purchased from ATCC, were also used. All cells were inoculated at 1 x 10(4) cells/cm2 (12 multi-well plate or 60 mm tissue culture dish), and then cultured for 4, 8 and 12 days with or without PHT (5 micrograms/ml). Prior to harvesting at the indicated times, cells were incubated with 14C-amino acids (1.25 microCi/ml) for 24 hours. The 14C-labeled proteins were isolated from the cell layers including extracellular matrix, following Kurkinen et al. with a minor change. Each 14C-labeled fraction was dissolved in 3 ml of Aquasol-2 and the radioactivity by a liquid scintillation counter. The DNA content of cell layers affected by PHT was increased on Gin-1, RES A3 and RES C2 at the post-confluence, resulting also in an increase in cell number. Two morphologically different phenotypes of responder cells were observed, differing in nuclear and cell sizes. At 12 days culture, RES A3, were stimulated by PHT, showed increased synthesis of both total extractable proteins (EP) and binding proteins (BP) labeled with 14C-amino acids. Therefore, at least two distinct phenotypic responder cells are present in the PHT-induced overgrowth gingiva, alter the synthesis of non-collagenous proteins.